McClung adapts to new job

Since taking the office of Clay County Sheriff at the start of the year, Gerald McClung has been hard at work making himself familiar with his new role and the responsibilities it carries.

McClung says he's adjusted well to the position and is enjoying working alongside his staff to help the residents of Clay County.

"Things are going great," McClung said. "We've got some good employees who are dedicated to doing the best they can for the county. I think that's the real strength of any department."

One of McClung's main goals has been to promote a helpful working atmosphere between his departments and others at the state, county and city levels.

"We're all going to work together," McClung said. "We're going to continue working with city police departments. We're going to work with the state. We're going to work with the other county departments. Basically, we're going to work with everyone. That's what we're supposed to do."

In recent years, accumulated vacation time has been a budget concern for not only the department, but also the county as a whole. As such, one of the first measures taken by McClung was to assign days off for his staff to help get the issue under control.

"One of my main goals was to reduce comp time, and we're doing it. We've reduced it a lot already and expect to see that improve as time goes on."

The sheriff's department currently is operating at near full-strength with eight deputies, eight male jailers and seven female jailers. Six male jailers work in a full-time capacity, while five female jailers are full-time.

McClung also has focused on another problem the department has faced -- the clogging of the jail sewer due to inmates flushing non-deteriorating items through the site's toilets.

"We've tightened things up to try and reduce the problems that had been happening with the sewer system. We've changed some of our policies. It seems to be working. We've not had any problems of late."

McClung said he also wants to have a police presence in the county's smaller communities. He has instructed his deputies to routinely work in the small towns. The department also is marking all of its police vehicles in an effort to promote awareness.

"Our vehicles are going to be marked so they can be recognized when they go through the communities. This will let people know we're there and hopefully serve as a deterrent for some crime."